Whitchurch and Llandaff Living Issue 62

Jack Jones
Author Jack Jones CBE is renowned and revered in literary circles.
Historian John Wake takes a look back over the writer's colourful
past - and the legacy that he leaves for readers today
If you happened to be walking
through Rhiwbina village during the
1960s, you may have seen a whitehaired,
elderly gentleman shuffling
from Pen-y-Dre to Beulah Road. He
would have been on his way to the
Butcher's Arms - his local. You may
have shouted to him, 'Hello Jack',
but it is doubtful you would have
got an answer other than an 'umph'.
Jack was known to be a little
'grumpy' in his old age and could
be very acerbic in conversation. He
would be at his most gruff if you had
the gall to sit on his seat by the bar.
One lady recalled that one evening,
she went to the Butcher's Arms with
her husband, who innocently sat in
'the seat' and ordered a couple of
drinks. The place went a little quiet
when Jack arrived. Jack Jones went
up to the man and told him: 'That's
my seat'.
The man, quite shocked, did as he
was told not wanting any altercation
in front of his wife. They left the
snug and carrying their drinks, went
to another bar in the pub.
Jack's achievements were second
to none in literary circles in Wales.
He was the author of sixteen novels,
several plays and the consultant
scriptwriter for surely the greatest of
Paul Robeson movies, Proud Valley.
The most acclaimed of his classic
novels were Rhondda Roundabout,
(1934), Off to Philadelphia in the
18
Morning (1947) and River out of Eden
(1951).
Staunchly Welsh, a patriot and a
fighter for workers' rights, it's easy to
see how his early life's experiences
influenced his life politics.
He was born in 1884 in Merthyr
Tydfil. It was one of the largest
towns in Wales at the time and
the most brutal for the working
classes. Iron Masters dominated
the industrial scene, cruel in their
treatment of workers and their
families.
The mines of the area gave coal
to the world, but little of the profits
went to the men at the coal face;
they endured torturous long days
deep underground, including
children too.
Jack's father was a coal miner so
he understood the hell that was the
life of a coal miner's family during
the latter years of the Victorian 20th
century. At the age of twelve, Jack
joined his father down the mines.
There was a spark though, of what
was to come during those years.
He not only watched theatre, he
acted in it. Local amateurs in the
scene assisted Jack and promoted
his 'little plays'. He did just five years
down the mines with his father
before leaving and joining the army.
Jack's first posting of his regiment,
the Militia Battalion Welsh, was in
South Africa. He hated it so much
that he deserted. The Military Police
got hold of him and he was sent to
India. His life at the front line in the
English Army came to an end and
the much-hardened Jack Jones
returned to Wales and once again,
went to work down the coal mines.
Jack got married in 1908 and had
five children with his wife Laura,
although sadly two of their sons
died at a young age. In 1914, Jack
was sent to the WW1 front lines in
both France and Belgium. He, like
many others, received debilitating
wounds caused by artillery shrapnel
and was invalided home. He took
up employment as a recruitment
officer in Merthyr.
Jack's deep resentment of the
savage 'capitalist' system saw him
start to stand up for his fellows
against the iron and coal owners.
Miners were dying every day;
many families were put out onto
the streets and this made Jack
very angry. He wanted to put his
educational abilities to good use.
He was a master of the English
language and this potent force was
needed within the miner's lodges.
In 1920, Jack joined the
Communist Party, which was at
the time, a real agitator against
injustice and a force for promoting
workers' rights. He attended rallies
in the north of England and spoke
to large crowds in the furtherance